The Tokugawa Art Museum holds the personal collection of the Owari Tokugawa family, the senior branch of the Tokugawa clan and lords of Nagoya from 1607 to 1871. The collection numbers more than 10,000 pieces including swords, lacquerware, tea ceremony equipment, Noh costumes and armour, and it has been kept together for four centuries — a rare unbroken inheritance from a single feudal house.
The undisputed treasure is the 12th-century illustrated handscroll of the Tale of Genji, the oldest surviving picture-scroll version of Murasaki Shikibu's novel and one of Japan's National Treasures. The originals are on display only in late November each year; high-resolution reproductions are shown the rest of the time. The adjacent Tokugawa-en garden makes a natural extension to the visit and is one of the city's best autumn-colour spots.